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High Tatras

Vysoké Tatry (High Tatras) is the highest mountain in Slovakia, which is located on the northern part of Slovakia, just on the border with Poland. Area of the mountain is 750 km², 600 km² is located on the Slovak territory. Tourists are visiting this part of the country for hiking, skiing and doing other sports, or just relaxing surrounded by a beautiful countryside.

Landscape

Tatras mountain is a coreal mountain. Geological structure of the High Tatras is complicated. The core of the Tatra Mountains was created in Palaeozoic. The surrounding water fell back in Mesozoic and a massive erosion started. In the Triasic Period rose again and began to create deposits (limestone, etc..), which formed the basis of Belianske Tatry and Červené vrchy (Red Hills). Furthermore, mountain was modeled after the Alpine orogeny.

Valeys or lowlands in High Tatras are kind of a counterpart of Tatra’s peaks.

List of lowlands in Slovak High Tatras:

Batizovská dolina (Batizovská Lowland)

Bielovodská dolina (Bielovodská Lowland)

Dolina Kežmarskej bielej vody (Lowland of Kežmarská White Water)

Dolina Siedmych prameňov (Lowland of Seven Springs)

Furkotská dolina (Furkotská Lowland)

Javorová dolina (Javorová Lowland)

Kôprová dolina (Kôprova Lowland)

Malá Studená dolina (Small Cold Lowland)

Mengusovská dolina (Mengusovská Lowland)

Mlynická dolina (Mlynická Lowland)

Starolesnianska dolina

Tichá dolina (Quiet Lowland)

Velická dolina (Velická Lowland)

Veľká Studená dolina (Big Cold Lowland)

26 peaks of High Tatras are higher than 2500 meters above the sea level. On the Slovak side you can find 8 peaks that are accessible for tourists with seasonal closures (from 1.11. to 15.6.). The only possibility to get to the peaks of Gerlachovský štít, Vysoká, Ganek, Bradavica, Prostredný hrot, Ľadový štít, Baranie rohy, Lomnický štít, Kežmarský štít is to join the hiking with a guide. Lomnický štít is also achievable by a cable-railway from Tatranská lomnica.

List of the peaks higher than 2500 meters above the sea level:

Gerlachovský štít (Gerlachovský Peak) – 2 655 m

Gerlachovská veža (Gerlachovská Tower) – 2 642 m

Lomnický štít (Lomnický Peak) – 2 634 m

Ľadový štít (Ice Peak) – 2 627 m

Pyšný štít (Proud Peak) – 2 623 m

Zadný Gerlachovský štít (Gerlachovský Back-Peak) – 2 616 m

Lavínový štít (Snowball Peak) – 2 606 m

Malý Ľadový štít (Small Ice Peak) – 2 602 m

Kotlový štít (Cauldron Peak) – 2 601 m

Lavínová veža (Snowball Tower) – 2 600 m

Malý Pyšný štít (Small Proud Peak) – 2 592 m

Veľká Litvorová veža (Big Litvor Tower) – 2 581 m

Strapatá veža (Strap Tower) – 2 565 m

Kežmarský štít (Kežmarský Peak) – 2 556 m

Vysoká (High) – 2 547 m

Supia veža (Vulture Tower) – 2 540 m

Končistá (Tippy) – 2 538 m

Malá Litvorová veža (Small Litvor Tower) – 2 533 m

Baranie rohy (Mutton Horns) – 2 526 m

Dračí štít (Dragon Peak) – 2 523 m

Veľká Vidlová veža (Big Pitchfork Tower) – 2 522 m

Český štít (Czech Peak) – 2 520 m)

Veterný štít (Windy Peak) – 2 515 m

Malý Kežmarský štít (Small Kežmarský Peak) -2 513 m

Zadný Ľadový štít (Ice Back-Peak) – 2 507 m)

Rysy (Lynxes) – 2 503 m

Climate

The climate is mostly mountainous and alpine, thus cold and moist, and is heavily influenced by mountainous terrain. Snow covers the mountain from 180 (in valleys) to 250 (in most areas) days of the year. Here and there and in particular on the northern shady slopes and gutters are under the snow all year round. At the upper layer the snow cover reaches 100-150 cm and the rugged landscape causes frequent landslides.

Rainfalls occur due to prevailing westerly winds on the western and northern slopes. Windy weather is typical for the Tatras (up to 300 days per year). On the south side there are often „falling winds“ that cause refutings and broad fields. Tourists have to count with its sudden changes, especially when the output transitions to peaks or valleys are long, usually lasting 8-10 hours. The average annual temperature is about 5 °C, 15 °C in July. The best time for hiking is in the autumn when the weather is stable due to lower temperatures and there is also an excellent visibility at that time.

Fauna & Flora

High Tatras are characterized by valuable flora. Scrub pine forests with their size form an important part of the Tatra National Park (TANAP). Together with the security zone it is more than 76000 ha of forests.

Even steep slopes or a limited amount of food in these positions are not an obstacle for some representatives of Tatra’s fauna. Especially Tatra chamois are used to tough conditions and lives here all year. They live in differentiated groups. Chamois rut starts in October or even in December. Females bear one rarely two cubs in May or in June. Chamois eat mainly plants and lichens. Their natural enemy is lynx and eagle. At present, their number is around 500. Above the peaks we can see some birds. Mainly black raven occur here. Eagle – our biggest protected predator, belongs to the rare. Its wingspan is around 2m. It does its nest on the wall of a high rock. I tis feeding rodents, young fox, sick and elderly chamois. So it serves as a Health police.

People

One of the most popular events of High Tatras is the Goral Folk Festival. Folk group Goral is an amateur folk group in Ždiar, which currently has 35 members of the young, middle and older generation. It represents the authentic Goral culture with its songs, dances, melodies and especially with its clothing. Members of Goral DFSk are dressed in typical Goral costumes, whose base is as white as snow, whoch covers most of the steep peaks of Belianske Tatras, then black like the earth from which the Goral had a difficult grind to get a hunk of bread and red resembling the blooding sweat on his hands.

Another well-known folk festival is the folk festival in Červený Kláštor (Red Monastery) also known as Zamagura Folk Festival. The festival takes place at the natural amphiteater in June. In addition to local performers are Polish dancers, singers and musicians the most common guests who are closely related with the Goral culture and language. Festival includes folk grafts fair and tasting of traditional Goral dishes.

Attractions

Liptov Village Museum in Pribylina is available to the public since 1991. It was built with a water reservoir Liptovská Mara, in order to protect the most valuable movable and immovable monuments. In addition, wooden folk architecture (rural and old houses, village school, a smithy, belfry, and buildings), there are copies of two most valuable monuments of flooded area.

The early Gothic Church of Our Lady of Liptovská Mara and the Gothic-Renaissance chateau of Parížkovce, the oldest yeoman seat in Liptov. The museum has its own zoo exhibition. It focuses on domestic animals and poultry. Its specialty is breeding hucul horses with the possibility of riding for the visitors.

Movie experiences you can enjoy at Kriváň Cinema in Nový Smokovec or at Tatry Cinema in Tatranská Lomnica, where in addition to movie screenings, theatrical performances and music concerts can be seen.

Gallery Villa Flora in Starý Smokovec is the oldest building in Smokovec. Visitors can look forward to the Exhibition of Slovak majolica and to the exhobition of photos and oil paintings of Ladislav Sulík.

Cold Creek Falls are a section of Cold Creek from the confluence of the Great Cold Creek (from the Great Cold Valley) and the Little Cold Creek (from the Little Cold Valley) near Rainer chats, up to Bilíkova chats where the waterfalls end. Cold Creek flows through a huge field break and creates beautiful cascades and cataracts, which are particularly nice in the spring melt or after hard rain when the water level is high.

Giant waterfall is a tectonic waterfall supported by selective erosion of the High Tatras in the district of Poprad. It is situated at the delta of Little Cold Valley and its basement is made of granodiorite. The waterfall is created from Little Cold Creek which is above it at an altitude of 1355 abs. It is approximately 15m high.

Caves

Only one cave in the High Tatras is accessible to the public. Belianska Cave is located on the northern slope of Kobylieho Mount in the eastern Belianske Tatras. It is located in the National Nature Reservation Belianske Tatras in the Tatra National Park. The entrance is at an altitude of 890m and is accessable from the trail Tatranská Kotlina (Tatranska Valley). The cave is 3640m long with the altitude difference of 160m. Sinter waterfalls (High Dome, Dome SNP waterfall Cathedral, Music Hall) and the pagoda-like stalagmites (Palm Hall) catch in the cave. The air temperature is 5.0 to 6.3 ° C, relative humidity 90-97%. Seven kinds of bats was found in the cave, dominant is Ordinary bat (Myotis myotis). Rarely Whiskered bat (Myotis mystacinus), Brandt bat (Myotis brandtii) and Ciliated bat (Myotis emarginatus) occur. Bathynella natnas is a small vertebrates living in ponds.

Accommodation

The dominant of Smokovec, Grandhotel was built in 1904 by a Budapest architect Guido Hoepfner, which was originally a monoblock, and later was expended threefold. The current development is characterised by modernization except expansion of hotle and restaurants, construction of several public administrative buildings, commercial and service facilities network traffic.

Alpine chalets are kind of cottages that serve for visitors of alpine environment in more ways. They provide opportunities to overnight, subsistence and other basic services including information. More of them were destroyed by an avalanche or burned. There are 11 chalets still in good condition, providing necessary service all year long.

List of the chalets in Slovakian High Tatras:

Téryho chata (Cottage of Téry) – 2 015 m – was founded in 1899. Its capacity is 25 beds.

Chata pod Soliskom (Cottage under the Peak of Solisko) – 1 840 m – was founded in 1942. There is no accommodation provided.

After 3:30 hours: end of the valley, Štrbský peak and the highest point Bystré sedlo pass (2314 m)

After 6 hours: Furkotská Valley, at this point hikers can go on red marked trail passing Wahlenberg lake back to Štrbské Pleso (1355 m) or by turning left to the blue marked trail reach Solisko (1950 m) in 20-30 min.

After 6:30 hours: Solisko chalet (1950 m), chair-lift down to Štrbské Pleso (1355 m) or up to the Predné Solisko Peak (2093 m)

After 6-8 hours: back in Štrbské Pleso (1355 m)

Mengusovská Valley

Facts about the hike:

Duration of the tour: 6-7 hours

Difficulty: moderate

Open: from 1st of July till 31st October, the trails between Štrbské Pleso and Popradské Pleso are open whole year

Colour of the trail marks: red, blue, yellow

Why is it so nice: The lake Veľké Hincovo pleso, under the Mengusovské peaks and Čubrina peak, is the largest and deepest lake (54 m) in the Slovak part of the High Tatras.

After 3 hours: end of the valley, in the vicinity of Veľké Hincovo pleso (Big Hincovo lake)

After 3:50 hours: via Koprovké pass the highest point of the trail – Koprovský Peak (2363 m), hikers should visit the Symbolic Cemetery of Tatras (memorial of the fallen victims of the Tatras)

After 4:00 hours: after a short hike along the yellow marked route and then 10 minutes along the blue route which leads to the red marked route

After 6-7 hours: back in Štrbské Pleso (1355 m)

Kriváň Peak and Važecká Valley

Facts about the hike:

Duration of the tour: 6-8 hours

Difficulty: hard

Open: from 1st of July till 31st October

Colour of the trail marks: red, blue, (green)

Why is it so nice: The ascent to the summit of Kriváň is one of the most attractive hikes in High Tatras and the peak is the national symbol of Slovakia. From the top of Kriváň there are some breathtaking views of the western Slovak and Polish Tatras and of the Liptovská kotlina Valley.

How the hike goes:

Starting point: Štrbské Pleso (1355 m), parking lot under the south end of Štrbské Pleso lake or alternatively from behind the sanatorium Solisko, follow the red marked trail

After 50 minutes: through Furkotská Valley to Jámske Pleso lake, in front of the lake turn to the blue trail

After 3:00 hours: reaching the summit of Kriváň (2495 m), here the hikers can take the blue marked trail back to Štrbské Pleso or the green marked trail through Vyšná Priehyba and Grúnik to the bus stop Tri Studničky (Three small wells) and then to Štrbské Pleso by bus

After 6-8 hours: back in Štrbské Pleso (1355 m)

Štrbské Pleso – Tatranská Polianka

Facts about the hike:

Duration of the tour: 6-7 hours

Difficulty: medium

Open: whole year, but in winter the section Popradské Pleso – Pod Ostrvou might by icy and may be temporarily closed

Colour of the trail marks: red, green

Why is it so nice: The majority of this hike is along the red marked trail of Tatra Artery which is the longest Tatra hike, crossing the High Tatras in an east-west direction.

Dolina Kežmarskej bielej vody (Valley of the Kežmarok White Water)

Open: whole year except of the section between Zelené pleso and Skalnaté pleso lakes, this section is open only from 16th of June till 31st October

Colour of the trail marks: green, yellow, red, blue, green

Why is it so nice: The most beautiful hike in the area of the Lomnický peak.

How the hike goes:

Starting point: railway station in Tatranská Lomnica (850 m), follow the green marked trail through the central park, to the base station of the gondola near the Grand Hotel Praha, change to the yellow marked trail

Ski Resorts

There are a few areas considered to be a centre of the highest mountain in Slovakia.

Štrbské pleso

Štrbské pleso is a village located around the second largest lake of Slovak High Tatras – Štrbské pleso (19.76 hectares). Since the village was build it belongs to the most important touristic centers with a big number of facilities for recreation and sports.

Tatranská lomnica

The largest Tatra’s village Tatranská Lomnica has several functions. It is the largest tourist center, which is offering many opportunities for skiing and a range of mountain transport. There is a seat of Tatranský národný park (Tatra National Park) and TANAP’s museum.

Starý Smokovec

Starý Smokovec is the oldest village of High Tatras. Nowadays it is also an administrative centre where the municipality and the centre of the Tatra mountain services (Tatranská horská služba) are located. Furthermore there is a big amount of hotels, rentals, travel agencies and other facilities. They are located on the transport area – Tatra rail, buses, lifts, etc. Own car is not necessary.

One of the other advantages is a wider range of services, restaurants, shops, and so on. Furthermore, there is a possibility of more cultural activities (sports, discos, entertainment, etc.). Centers of the High Tatras are also a starting point for hiking trails and ski slopes.

Spa

Spa Nový Smokovec provide comprehensive medical care, base on the use of a combination of natural and modern methods of healing. The stay is particularly suitable for allergy sufferers, since Tatra climate with clean air, acts very positively for patients with asthma or other respiratory illnesses. Among the most popular treatments are undoubtedly: inhalation therapy, hydrotherapy, massages, electrotherapy, thermotherapy, phototherapy or treatment of physical education. In addition, a new refueling of forces and a perfect relaxation bring you the wellness services such as sauna, whirlpool or experiential showers. Medical spa treatments and methods act as a balm to the soul and ensure undisturbed relaxation and improve health.

The highest spa in Slovakia are Štrbské Pleso Spa, situated at an altitude 1352 m above sea level in the western part of the High Tatras. The altitude, clean air, with a prevalence of light negative ions positively impacts the overall climate of the spa. The emergence of the spa dates back to 1877, when thanks to the founder of Strbske Pleso Szentiványiho Joseph began to provide the first therapeutic balneology procedures (ordinary hot baths, spas dwarf pine zone). Over time, nursing homes shaped as a medical treatment for chronic nonspecific respiratory diseases of children and adults. The basic method of treatment is climatotherapy which is an essential component of patient stay in the open air by the medical rehabilitation. It includes medication, physical and inhalation therapy according to recommendation of a physician. To the overall treatment contributes a total dietary treatment system. A part of the sanatorium are highly specialized doctors: pediatricians, internists, pneumologists, physiotherapists, balneologists, Immunologists and allergologists, using instrumentation and medical diagnostic equipment at the Department of Hematology, biochemistry, bacteriology, immunological and functional diagnosis.

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